Alief trustees now subject to background checks

The Alief school board adopted new procedures this week that would require board members to undergo background checks if they want to have direct contact with students. State law requires such checks for employees and many volunteers, but not for elected board members.

But Alief trustees got the idea after finding out that a fellow trustee, Edgar Dansby III, had a criminal history from the 1980s that included theft and prostitution. A judge has since forced Dansby to resign for an unrelated offense. He lied about graduating from college yet allowed the district to pay for ceremonial robes — meant to represent his alma mater — that he wore to high school graduation ceremonies on official business.

The Alief board is likely the first in the state to agree to background checks, said board President Sarah Winkler, who also serves on the board of the Texas Association of School Boards. The procedures [pdf] say the district’s attorney will determine whether any shady behavior that turns up should restrict the board members access to schools. Board member Ann Williams, a Dansby supporter, voted against the new procedures.

When I wrote about this topic in January, the board presidents for Houston ISD and Cypress-Fairbanks said they wouldn’t have a problem with background checks for board members. But neither of those boards have taken the next step of requiring them (HISD has since changed board presidents).

Should other school boards follow Alief’s lead, or should board members be spared background checks because voters elected them?